Vanilla
by Gunner'sDream
Summary: As the years go by, Logan teaches the boys one-by-one to stop underestimating him, but it all begins with James. Pre-BTR. Pre-Slash.


Hey there! This my first BTR fic. I'm a huge Logan lover but I love all the other guys too. I'm thinking about making this a series with a one-shot for Kendall and Carlos both learning not to underestimate Logan too. Depends on what you guys think. Please review! :)

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"You are so vanilla."

Logan stopped licking his ice cream cone, tongue-out and stared at James, his head tilted sideways. Then he realized how stupid he must look when his friend's lips quirked. He righted himself and licked his lips, brows furrowing. "But I ordered caramel fudge mocha."

James gave a deep laugh and settled his elbows down on the bar in front of them. He leaned in towards Logan on the stool next to him and lowered his voice a pitch. "I wasn't talking about the ice cream." He smirked and leaned back taking a spoonful of his own ice cream.

Logan nearly groaned out loud when he finally caught the meaning of his friend's words. "Not this again." He dramatically dropped his head to onto his crossed arms and held his ice cream cone up like a cross. "Please!" He pleaded, drawing curious looks from the patrons to the left and right of them and even the waitress herself. "Please, not this again."

James just laughed and took another spoonful of his ice cream, trying to look charming for the new stares turned their way—they were out of their small town and in the big city for once and one always had to look good for new faces. One never knew when a talent scout would come knocking at their ice cream parlor—before turning his attention back to Logan. "Yes, this conversation again." He nudged his friend. "Your clothes, your studying, your safeliness—"

"I prefer to call it cautiousness." Logan broke in but James ignored him with a wave of his hand.

"Everything about you is vanilla. Cookie cutter. Responsible." How James managed to say the last one like it was repulsive Logan would never know. "How do you ever expect us to become famous when you dress like that?"

Logan looked down at his clothes. Jeans, with no holes in them, converse shoes, and a white t-shirt with a sweater vest over the top. Logan didn't see anything wrong with it. He could see what Hollywood might have wrong with it but he himself was fine with it and he wasn't about to change himself just to fit some stupid pop-star image that James had in his mind. If they didn't take him the way he was then they weren't taking him at all and that was that.

"I'll admit, you got those big puppy dog eyes and the cute bed head and that heart-stopping crooked smile all going for you but that attire and that attitude has got to change. You never do anything spontaneous."

"Yes, I do. Just last week we—"

"Carlos instigated that." James cut him off. "You just followed along to make sure none of us got ourselves killed." James ducked his head to show both his thanks because yes one of them almost had gotten killed but was saved thanks to Logan's quick thinking and to lessen the harshness of his words. He really did want what was best for his friend and well...anything that involved moving them closer towards Hollywood.

Logan turned his head away from his friend and stared at his dripping ice cream cone. James putting down his 'lack of style' Logan could handle but when the other boy started picking at his personality, well, that kind of hurt. Because if James didn't like him as a person how could they even be considered friends at all? Let alone best friends.

"It's not you!" James grabbed his shoulder, seemingly reading his mind-or at least the hurt look on his face. "I love you, Logie. I love you for you. But the Logan that's my best friend isn't the one that everyone always gets to see." He gave Logan's shoulder a squeeze. "You're so shy and nervous around new people. You're never yourself around anyone but me, Kendall, and Carlos. Nobody else gets to see that side of you. The real you."

Logan continued to stare hard at his cone.

"Everyone else sees the studious, nice, cautious Logan. And I love him too, don't get me wrong." James assured him, trying to catch his eyes but Logan still refused. "But when I get to see that other side of you, the one that not only goes along with the prank but helps plan it as well. The one that says completely inappropriate things that have even Kendall blowing milk out of his nose." James put a hand in Logan's hair and gave it a soft tug. "The one that laughed so hard at a sex joke last week that he peed a little."

Logan spun to face him, sputtering in protest. "I-I did not," he looked around, lowering his voice to the faintest whisper, a blush covering his cheeks. "I did not pee a little."

James' smile was brilliant. "I know but it got you to look at me."

Logan's eyes narrowed and he moved to look away again before James' words stopped him.

"I just want everybody to love you as much as I do, Logie." Logan's heart painfully stuttered in his chest and he winced with it. James just smiled back at him, seeming to read Logan's body signals as well as he read his mind. "I just want to help everybody else see that wicked side of you that only we get to see."

Logan eyed his best friend for a long moment, knowing his words were nothing but sincere but gauging them anyway. When he gave a slight nod James seemed to let out a breath he'd been holding and flashed Logan a quick, brilliant smile before digging back into his own ice cream.

There was a few seconds of silence, where Logan licked the drips off his ice cream cone before James gave him a mischievous smirk. "It really wouldn't kill you to be a little spontaneous though."

Logan turned back to his best friend, eyes narrowing again and watched as James put his spoon back in his mouth. Logan's mouth quirked up at the side. "And you'd go along with it?"

James' eyebrows rose and he put his spoon back in his cup. "If you were to do something spontaneous? Absolutely." He put an arm around Logan's shoulders and gave him a bro-hug before going back to his ice cream. "You're my best friend man. Of course I'd be right there with ya."

"Anything?" Logan questioned innocently at which James had to smirk at the expression. _His poor, poor morally responsible friend. Nothing he could come up with would be too bad anyway._

"Barring arrest?" Logan glared at him like he was stupid. James smiled back. "Then, anything."

"Promise?" Logan asked solemnly.

"Promise." James vowed back, knowing how much a promise meant to his friend. Understandable considering the problems Logan had with his father and well, said father's constant lack of keeping said promises. James really did despise the man.

Logan gauged him for a few moments, just staring before looking around the ice cream parlor, at the customers on the left and right of them at the bar and the two waitresses working the front counter before turning back to James.

"Okay." He said simply and proceeded to reach down and covertly pinch James' butt cheek. Hard. In turn, causing the other boy to yelp quietly and drop the spoon in his hand to the counter. Ice cream splattered across the bar's surface and onto his shirt but James could only stare at Logan with wide eyes and an open mouth.

He certainly hadn't been expecting that but it seemed to have been exactly the reaction Logan had been looking for because he gave James a quick crooked smirk before setting his face into a disapproving mask, though James could still see the mischievous glint in his eye.

"Look what you did." Logan said in a louder-than-normal disappointed voice before James could recover. Others were turning around to stare at them now and James tried to quell the rising blush to his cheeks, he looked at Logan, still tongue-tied. "You know what this means don't you?" Logan asked him with a hint of menace in his voice.

James just shook his head, mouth still open wide, not understanding what was going on.

Logan tsked him, shaking his own head, keeping his voice at a loud whisper for the others around them to hear. "Do the words leather harness and hot wax bring anything to mind?"

If anything, James eyes opened even wider. He could see others around him sharing similar expressions. Logan wasn't even cracking a smile. James opened his mouth and managed to get out a stuttered "D-wha?" Before the waitress interrupted them, eyeing Logan with something close to appreciation. James mouth dropped open again.

"Would you like me to clean that up for you, Sir?" She directed her question at Logan, who shot her a cool, Cheshire cat smile.

"No, thank you, Madame. James here is actually going to do the cleaning up. But if you would be so kind as to get him a few napkins to do the job, well, I would be _most_ appreciative." Logan purred at her to which the waitress gave Logan dirty smirk and did his bidding, shoving the napkins towards James but not sparing him a glance.

When James didn't immediately move Logan leaned over him, bracing one hand still holding his ice cream cone on the edge of the bar and one on the back of James' stool. At the feel of hot breath at his ear James full body shivered, barely catching the two words Logan whispered in his ear before the other boy moved back a few inches and met James' eyes dead-on with determination.

"You promised."

James mouth snapped shut at both the realization of what Logan was actually doing and at the dominating look in the other's eyes. He gulped. He would never think Logan safe again. And damn it all to hell, he had promised. Anything. He'd promised anything... he was an idiot and Logan was too smart for his own good.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of their eyes being locked James nodded slowly and played along, wiping up the bit of ice cream from the counter, barely taking his eyes off Logan as the other boy slowly went back to licking his ice cream cone with a wicked smirk on his face.

When he was finally done Logan inspected his work and nodded approvingly. "Good job. Very well done." He pet James' hair to punctuate his point.

They had the entire shop's attention now to James' complete mortification but apparently Logan wasn't planning on ending things quite yet.

"May I take those soiled napkins for you, Sir?" The same waitress asked Logan again, still not sparing James a look.

Logan nodded his head in approval, a smirk still plastered to his face.

"What do you say to the nice lady, Jamie, after you so rudely dirtied her counter-top?" Logan asked, still petting James' hair. When James turned confused eyes at him Logan grabbed hold and tugged on the strands, not hard, but well-enough for the show. James grunted with it, giving Logan a look that promised retribution before turning back to the waitress.

"Sorry, ma'am." James cast his eyes downward, though inside he was part fuming and weirdly enough part proud of Logan's audacity but still fully bemused by the entire situation.

He didn't pay the waitress' reply any mind because Logan was suddenly in his space again. Their eyes met and Logan's lips quirked in what James considered probably the most adorably impish way ever but his eyes held a challenge: Was James really going to take that? Wasn't he even going to give the people a good show?

James glared back and Logan had to smother a smile. Logan raised an eyebrow and James gave an small infinitesimal nod of his head, still feeling all eyes on them. Challenge accepted.

Logan full out smiled before he sobered his look and eyed James up and down with a raised eyebrow, to which James actually twitched at the scrutiny. "You know you deserve this punishment, don't you, my darling?" Logan punctuated this with a finger down James' face and a click of his tongue on 'darling'. His eyes flashed back up to James', laughter in them.

For the first time James had to smother his own smile, Logan was so going to pay for that one.

He gulped and flinched back from Logan's nail resting on his chin. He looked up with what felt like pure fear and restrained excitement etched on his face. "Not the—" He paused for emphasis. "You're not going to use the—" gulp "—high heels on me are you?"

He heard a gasp behind them and really had to stifle his own smile now. Logan's eyes flashed in quick surprise before his mask was back on. "You don't like me in heels, Jamie?"

James choked on a laugh but recovered quickly. "No! No, you're dead sexy in them, Logie!" He appeased. "And they always make your butt look awesome," Logan's eyes sparkled and James knew he wanted to laugh. "But they just hurt me so bad. Especially when you step on my back in the spiky ones."

"Hmm..." Logan contemplated, switching his ice cream cone to his right hand before sticking his left thumb in his mouth and sucking the melted chocolate from it greedily. James stared raptly and let his Adam's apple bob, though his mouth really was suddenly dry. "I suppose you could pick your own punishment. What is it, Jamie?" He put his ice cream cone directly in front of James' mouth to which James, without thought, stuck his tongue out and licked. Though his mind short-circuited a second later with a big WTF? blaring across his mind. Logan just smirked, pleased. "What do you want me to do to you?"

James licked his lips a couple times, trying to figure out how to reply to Logan's gruff whisper. His eyes unfocused and met a pair leaning around Logan, unabashedly staring at the scene the two were making. He covertly looked around and saw several others doing the same. His eyes snapped back to Logan's to see the other's eyes blazing and focused solely on James.

"Hold me down." James snapped his mouth shut. That had come out of nowhere. Logan's smile blazed mischievously, however, his eyes flicked to the left of James where a patron was apparently coughing up a lung. James would guess from his last statement. "Take what you want from me." He got Logan's attention back on him and his own smiling eyes with his solemn voice drove it home. "Make. Me. Beg."

Logan's pupils widened and his breathing accelerated but he didn't miss a beat. "That doesn't quite sound like punishment to me." He dabbed his ice cream cone on the corner of James' mouth before he leaned in close to James' ear. "Sounds more like a reward."

With that he promptly licked the melted treat right off James' face, leaving James' eyes to widen and meet Logan's challenging ones. Exactly how far was his friend willing to take this?

"O-oh it's punishment," James managed, gaze drawn to Logan's suddenly wicked smile. "Having to wait."

Logan leaned in again, this time stopping at James' ear. "Then let's not dally." His hot breath trickled chills down James' spine but when Logan punctuated his words by slowly dragging James' earlobe through his teeth, James let out an honest-to-God moan. A quiet one. But a moan none-the-less as his eyes slid shut and his head fell back.

Apparently **that** was how far Logan was willing to take this. And James had to give him props for that but if he didn't end this real soon then James knew he might end up doing something really embarrassing **to **the only person in this ice cream parlor that he actually gave a shit about. And that person, that friendship, he was not willing to risk because his libido was suddenly having a field day.

"Yes sir." James returned cheekily after shaking his head clear, to which Logan gave him a beaming smile with a twinkle of pure joy in his eyes.

It was James' favorite smile, so much so that he might have endured this whole debacle again just to reproduce it. However, Logan finally seemed ready to bring their scene to an end.

"Then finish up, boy." He punctuated with a pat to James' cheek before leaning back and finishing off his own cone.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, people still staring at them, though more covertly now, when Logan suddenly spoke up again. "I really do think we should go see a movie first though. Before we go and, ya know, have all the sex and stuff."

He popped the last of the cone in his mouth, looking so innocent the entire time that James had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Apparently their scene wasn't over.

"No, I'd rather just go get it on." Was his reply to which Logan held up his hands.

"Alright, alright. If that's what you want." He innocently licked his fingers, staring straight ahead. "You know I'm not one to push." Logan added seriously.

James felt blood on his tongue from how hard he was biting his cheek. He pushed his paper cup away, dropping his spoon in it. "Then let's go. You know I think I saw a really nice farmer's market down the road. I think we should stop there on our way back to the hotel."

Logan's eyebrows rose as he stood up from his seat. "I agree wholeheartedly." He stretched his hands above his head, a tiny sliver of skin peeking out from between his pants and the hem of his white tee. "We might find something useful there."

Logan placed a tip on the counter and gave the one waitress a wink before slipping his hands in his back pockets and walking out, not waiting to see if a gaping James was following behind.

James, in fact, was following behind, mouth agape, trying not to blush at the newest shocking comment from Logan.

They walked in silence, Logan reaching out to take James' hand for their audience, which James allowed until they were out of view of the ice cream shop, at which point he shoved a laughing Logan into the grass.

They'd made it as far as the little park they were in before Logan's giggles had started up. Now he was on the ground full out guffawing, clutching at his sides with a stern James standing over him, trying to not to crack his own smile at not only the situation but at the infectiousness that was Logan's laughter.

"What the hell, Loges?!" James nudged the still laughing Logan with his foot but the boy paid him no mind. "I said spontaneous not... kinky."

"Oh... God... Their... Faces." Logan got out between breaths.

James cracked a smile before managing another severe look on his face, which again faltered and broke completely when Logan snorted trying to inhale through his laughs.

"I hate you." James told him with his arms crossed but an affectionate smile played across his face.

"I... Made... You... My... Bitch."

James frowned and he nudged Logan a little harder. "Ass."

"Yeah." Logan said sitting up and wiping his eyes. "Yours."

James breath caught and he had to shake his head before he could respond. "What is up with you?" He laughed a little at Logan's wide eyes and huge smile. "In the time it took to eat an ice cream cone you've gone from innocent bunny to sexual deviant."

Logan pointed at him, wagging his finger as he fell back down into the grass with another laugh. "You brought this on yourself."

James looked down at his best friend in the entire world. And boy was he something at the moment. Arms and legs splayed out in the grass, one arm holding his stomach, the other behind his neck supporting his head as he looked at James. The smile splitting his face was as crooked as it was equal parts devious and angelic. His brown eyes sparkled with unbridled mischief. His cheeks were pink with the exertion from laughing and James could see his stomach muscles heaving underneath his white shirt—his sweater vest having ridden up revealing another thin slash of delicious milky white skin and the small duck shaped birthmark Logan had always had.

James fluttered his eyes shut, a small incredulous smile pulling at his lips as he slowly sat down in the grass next to Logan. He'd just thought of his best friend's skin as delicious. He didn't know if he was two seconds away from having an existential crisis or some sexual epiphany or damn, both but he wanted no part.

Logan shows a little dominance in the ice cream parlor and suddenly James wants to jump him? He wasn't even attracted to guys! At least he'd never been before but damn, there was just something about Logan. His Logan. His _best friend_ Logan.

And James definitely wasn't into the whole BDSM, 'your my daddy, I'm your slave' kind of thing but damn again, there was just something so irresistibly sexy about _every. Single. Thing_. Logan had done in the past twenty minutes that it had him questioning some things himself. But not now. Not in this moment. Not when Logan looked like that. Later.

"I suppose I did." James finally returned, lying down next to Logan and turning his head to face him. There was still plenty of space between them but when Logan turned his own head towards him James couldn't help but swallow at the sight.

Logan just smiled at him, completely unaware of James' inner turmoil. "Maybe that'll teach you to stop underestimating me." He reached out and nonchalantly brushed James' hair off his forehead before returning his hand behind his neck.

James' forehead and, he swore, his hairs actually tingled from the contact. He turned on his side and pillowed his face on his hands, looking at Logan straight on. "I wouldn't dare make such a grievous mistake twice."His eyes were serious and his face showed his sincerity. "You Logan, are anything but vanilla."

Logan's lips turned up shyly but pleased at the corners. "Apology accepted, Jamie."

Logan unabashedly held James' eye contact for a full minute before James broke the silence. "Shouldn't your apology come now?"

Logan's lips quirked before he flattened them out. "For what?"

James' eyes narrowed. "You know damn well."

Brown eyes sparkled and that crooked smile appeared again. "For making you my bitch?"

James full on glared now.

"Not sorry for that, Jamie." Logan told him unrepentantly. "Besides, you made me a cross dresser."

Now it was James' turn to laugh. "Just the heels. I picture them red, stiletto tall with silver studs."

Logan just stuck his tongue out and waved James' ludicrous words away. No way would Logan ever wear heels, no matter how good they made his butt look. "Anyway, quit pouting, next time _you_ can make _me_ your bitch."

James' mind skipped past the whole 'next time' part and focused in on the you and me bits. "Really?" He asked before he could keep his mouth closed.

Logan smiled again. "No."

James pouted, for some reason taking Logan's word as law. "Damn, you're one bossy son of a bitch all the sudden."

"I kind of like it." Logan patted his own stomach, still beaming. "Especially when you obey."

James choked on air but Logan just patted the boy's head before reaching into his back pocket.

"Look what I got." He held up a small white napkin with seven digits written on it.

James ripped it out of his hand, mouth agape. "Where'd you get this? Whose is it?"

"The waitress slipped it to me when I gave her her tip." Logan was shaking with silent laughter again.

James resisted the urge to crumple the napkin in his fist and moved it back over in front of Logan who took it from him. "So, are you going to call her?" James asked purposely not analyzing his feelings too closely.

"Hell no." Logan crumpled the number in his own fist, much to James' satisfaction. "That woman is ten shades of crazy if the looks she was giving me were any indication. Besides," Logan sat up, hovering just over James' inert form. Their eyes met. "I could never cheat on my boyfriend." And with that he kissed James on the cheek before he got up and ran away laughing.

James' took a moment to glare at nothing in particular, cursing his tingling cheek and well, life, before surging up and taking off after his best friend. Shouting false threats about his livelihood the entire way.

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Okay, so (as stated above) thinking about making this a series entitled 'Vanilla' but depends on if you'd all read it or not. Let me know what you think. I already have ideas for how Logan shows Carlos to not underestimate him but I do need ideas for Kendall if I were to continue. Please review! Ideas are also super helpful! Thanks guys!

Gunner


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